Board 8 > Final Fantasy XVI Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://opencritic.com/game/14516/final-fantasy-xvi
https://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-5/final-fantasy-xvi?ref=hp

The first completely brand new mainline Final Fantasy release in 7 YEARS is finally here! Headed up by Yoshi P and Creative Business Unit III, they're out to restore the good name of single player Final Fantasy games much the same way they did to Final Fantasy XIV. They poached Ryota Suzuki from Capcom to be FF16's Combat Director who was not only a Lead Designer for DMCV, but also worked on Dragon's Dogma, Monster Hunter, Onimusha and various Capcom Vs games and brought him for this game's action based combat which seems like it's plays really well. Even people who miss the old turn based times seemed won over by the demo.

Final Fantasy XVI is set in the fictional world of Valisthea, a world divided between six nations who hold power through access to magical Crystals and Dominants, humans who act as hosts for each nation's Eikon. Tensions between the nations escalate as a malady dubbed the Blight begins consuming the land. Clive Rosfield, guardian to his younger brother Joshua, witnesses his kingdom destroyed and goes on a revenge quest in pursuit of the dark Eikon Ifrit. I believe this spans over 3 different decades in Clive's life as a teenager and in his 20s and 30s.

So far early on we're sitting at a 90% through 60 reviews, For reference the last two single player entries Final Fantasy XV and XIII reviewed at 81% and 83% respectively.

Attack of the Fanboy - 5/5 Stars
Final Fantasy XVI is an outstanding achievement. Every part of it, from its characters to its combat, was put there with a purpose. Not only does it deliver satisfyingly slick action RPG combat in between masterfully directed cutscenes, but also a story with real heart. Most importantly, it's incredibly clear that a team of creative individuals was behind every decision. There's a human element that permeates every aspect of Final Fantasy XVI, and it'll end up becoming a lot of people's favorite Final Fantasy because of that.

Digitally Downloaded - 5/5 Stars
Its far too early to determine where Final Fantasy XVI sits in the ranks of Square Enixs venerable series. However, this is an engrossing, entertaining and, most importantly, fiercely intelligent game. The developers have taken the AAA-blockbuster budget they had to work with, and used it to craft an experience with a strong, provocative and timely message, and then backed it up with some of the most entertaining action combat weve ever seen. Not a second of the games runtime is wasted, theres not a single dud character, moment, or scene, and the plot is a riveting epic page-turner. If only more blockbuster games were like this, game development would be a far more mature art form.

Worth Playing - 9.3/10
Final Fantasy XVI is by no means a perfect game, but it is an exceptionally good one. The engaging plot, beautiful visuals, and enjoyable gameplay all combine to create something that feels special. It can occasionally be a little long for its own good, and the combat system is slow to get going, but once it hits all the right marks, it knocks them out of the park. I left Final Fantasy XV disappointed by how unfinished it felt, but Final Fantasy XVI is a true rarity these days: a fully finished game that is satisfying from start to finish.

IGN - 9/10
Featuring fast, reflex driven, action heavy combat, Final Fantasy 16 is certainly a departure from what fans may expect out of a Final Fantasy game, but its excellent story, characters, and world building are right up there with the best the series has to offer, and the innovative Active Time Lore feature should set a new standard for how lengthy, story-heavy games keep players invested in its world.

Gamespot - 9/10
When I hear the new renditions of the Crystal Prelude and the original Final Fantasy theme, I look back at the franchise's rich history and realize just how much of an impact it's made on me and countless others. There are eras of my life that have been defined by Final Fantasy games and my connection to them. Having seen FFXVI all the way through, I'm happy to include it alongside some of my all-time favorites in the series. It's heartening to see that this bold approach to both story and gameplay is now part of that legacy, expanding the definition of what a mainline entry could be. It may fall short in some respects, but it should be celebrated for its most stunning moments and the characters who embody them. FFXVI succeeds and earns its place within the Final Fantasy pantheon as one of the great entries, and does so on its own terms.

Push Square - 9/10
At its best, Final Fantasy 16 is a jaw-dropping epic of rarely seen proportions. It's pretty much the pinnacle of cinematic spectacle in modern games, and its often gripping, emotional story is only matched by its fantastic combat system. While its overall quality does dip outside of the main plot, this is still a must-play action RPG, and the best single-player Final Fantasy in over a decade.

Noisy Pixel - 9/10
Final Fantasy XVI is an action JRPG polished to an iridescent sheen. Its well-designed combat system and enemies, outstanding character writing and worldbuilding, and consistently stellar side content make it a standout entry in this legendary franchise. Even when accounting for the weak villains and a lukewarm conclusion, this was a journey that truly gripped me from beginning to end. This is a must-play game of the year and a Final Fantasy adventure you won't forget.

Game Informer - 8.5/10
With more than 65 hours of FFXVI behind me, I still have a lot to do beyond the story, and Im glad my time with Creative Business Unit IIIs latest isnt at its end yet. FFXVI has some of my favorite moments in modern Final Fantasy, but its lows threaten the pace at which they arrive. I wish FFXVIs various elements were intertwined more seamlessly. Still, when I look back at my time with Clive, his friends, his enemies, and Valisthea, its those highs that I vividly remember. FFXVI is very different from its predecessors, but in many ways, very familiar; And its still a Final Fantasy, through and through, reminding me why I love this series so much.

I need to steal my brothers PS5

Overshadowed by the Nintendo Direct lol.

Best reviews for a new game in the series since XII (which launched in a very different environment) which is no surprise but still excellent.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fJVQGxjGh5o

Final Fantasy XVI is a phenomenal game, through and through. A marvelous battle system, incredible story and characters, a wondrous world full of exploration and intrigue, plenty of RPG tropes, and an outstanding soundtrack all highlight why Final Fantasy XVI is truly something special. The last few entries stumbled out of the gates, sowing some doubt about the future of the franchise. In stark contrast, Final Fantasy XVI rises to the occasion, restoring the lofty status the series once enjoyed and taking the franchise in a new direction while still honoring its legacy. In a year full of amazing games, Final Fantasy XVI emerges as a frontrunner.

Seeing some pretty mixed reviews about the story but everyone seems to agree the gameplay is excellent

I can't motha fuckin wait

like I've been saying for decades

all the best Final Fantasy games

have a 6 in the number

Digital Foundry tech review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oyjldkh5kE

they recommend the 30 FPS quality mode over the less stable performance mode i'm sure someone will be upset by this

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

have a 6 in the number

It's true an 8 is just a 6 with a bit of the top cut off.

All the best FFs are divisible by 8...?

all the best final fantasies start with the letter f

Divisible by 1 too

SHINE_GET_64 posted...

Digital Foundry tech review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Oyjldkh5kE

they recommend the 30 FPS quality mode over the less stable performance mode i'm sure someone will be upset by this

there are those dedicated to The Cause

Having just read that the story can be completed in 30 hours and sidequests can up it to 45-50, I'm a little underwhelmed for $70.

Obellisk posted...

Having just read that the story can be completed in 30 hours and sidequests can up it to 45-50, I'm so excited Im buying a game not a Skinner box.

Fixed

Obellisk posted...

Having just read that the story can be completed in 30 hours and sidequests can up it to 45-50, I'm a little underwhelmed for $70.

$10 cheaper than Chrono Trigger at launch!

Only 50 hours??? I hope someone gets fired for this blunder

Since its a SE game by Black Friday you might be able to get it for $30-40 if thats more preferable

45 hours if you do some sidequests seems in line with most FF games, as well as other single-player games like the new God of Wars.

is it too much to ask for a standard story to have at least 50 hours.

I can't say if a story length is good without knowing it at all. 50 hours can easily be too little for some and way too much for others. But I would much rather have a tight story in less than a dragged in more, especially because with how long games tend to be these days I struggle to keep up with I want to lol.

Game is currently i stalling. I'll have some breaks today to play in.

Yes because shit dragging sucks lol, give me more concise thought out plots any day

Still twice as long as FFXV's main plot...!

Are any of the main stories in a Final Fantasy game 50 hours? How Long To Beat suggests XIII is nearly that long, which isn't exactly the company I want XVI to share. Especially for something falling closer to the action side of action RPG, this feels rather bulky.

35-50 hours depending on investiture sounds perfect to me...I think the days of 80 hour rpg epics are long gone. Games are just too expensive to produce these days

FoolFantastic posted...

Are any of the main stories in a Final Fantasy game 50 hours? How Long To Beat suggests XIII is nearly that long, which isn't exactly the company I want XVI to share. Especially for something falling closer to the action side of action RPG, this feels rather bulky.

FF13 lists 'Main + Extra' as 60 hours, which is the shorthand for doing some side quests but not being a completionist. It's actually on the high end.

FF6 - 41 hours
FF7 - 50 hours
FF7 Remake - 41
FF8 - 53
FF9 - 53
FF10 - 70
FF12 - 60
FF13 - 61
13-2 - 41
13-3 - 48

Obellisk posted...

Having just read that the story can be completed in 30 hours and sidequests can up it to 45-50, I'm a little underwhelmed for $70.

Damn that is excellent

For me it's like $600 since I have to buy a whole ps5

Also the new final fantasy mode sounds less like NG+ and more like actual content

As someone with precious little spare time, i cant imagine being mad at game length

give me shorter, sweeter experiences imo. Disco elysium and outer wilds can be beaten in under 20 hours, and those are 10/10 experiences

i mean yeah i expect ff16 to be a bit longer, but who cares as long as its good

Yeah, I don't care how long it is as long as it's good

And preferably actually finished, unlike, say, FFXV

Yes, I want it to be good and not regurgitated but at the same time I'd love a game I know is going to take me a long time to play and not just because they added a hunting mini game. (ff15)

Obellisk posted...

Yes, I want it to be good and not regurgitated but at the same time I'd love a game I know is going to take me a long time to play and not just because they added a hunting mini game. (ff15)

Good news, Trails Into Reverie comes out next month

Obellisk posted...

Yes, I want it to be good and not regurgitated but at the same time I'd love a game I know is going to take me a long time to play and not just because they added a hunting mini game. (ff15)

The funny thing is I bounced hard off of DQXI for this exact reason

I got 20 hours in and got frustrated nothing interesting was happening at all. There was more story in the 2 hours of the FFXVI demo than in the first 20 hours of DQXI

Obellisk posted...

Yes, I want it to be good and not regurgitated but at the same time I'd love a game I know is going to take me a long time to play and not just because they added a hunting mini game. (ff15)

I get this I suppose. But I'm personally not nearly done with Zelda lol.

TomNook7 posted...

As someone with precious little spare time, i cant imagine being mad at game length

But what if we run out of games to play in our lifetime

Obellisk posted...

Yes, I want it to be good and not regurgitated but at the same time I'd love a game I know is going to take me a long time to play and not just because they added a hunting mini game. (ff15)

Every game longer than like 40 hours has padding. Most over 20 also do. It's just a matter of how well the padding is hidden and whether it turns you off enough to hurt the experience.

Basically, you're asking for more crumbs in your crabcake. You might not hate it but it's just as good without it.

The old school FF games varied from 10-15 to 20-25 hours. They didn't need extra stuff to make great games. 5 and 6 mostly let the players kinda just do their own things near the end, but it didn't ever feel bogged down. 7-9 veered into longer, more character driven stories and imagery, but I would bet a lot of the extra runtime (25-35 hours) had more to do with the visuals and battle animations starting to add up here and there. Once 10 hit onward, games were chock full of extra stuff (10 was just insanely full of extra stuff). However, the main stories still only take 35-50 at best. If a game is fully action based, it should just take an even shorter time yet, because they aren't doing "random encounter" stuff. Ys games are definitely longer these days, but can usually get done with 30-40 hours of stuff.

If you want extra stuff, sure, I understand wanting to do all the exploration and seeing what stuff is hidden in the margins. However, FF will (and always should) hinge on the story, characters, and mood driving the game forward. I was not absorbed into 12 or 13's worlds or character dramas. That led me to focus on the combat, which were even further against what I wanted from a FF game, so I'm hyperfocusing on plenty of issues. XV and 7R were definitely improvement, but still had issues of padding. At least when the stories got down to business, they had moments of brilliance here and there.

It sounds like this game is trying to knuckle down on a "less is more" approach. If that holds true, and the combat doesn't frustrate me, I think the story and characters sound heavy and deep enough to either be two things: gritty and violent and visceral fun, or belabored and boring. My hope is the story and character are the former.

People thinking 50 hours is too short really shows how Persona brained this board is TBH.

Especially considering this is an action game without random encounters, I'm actually shocked it reaches 50.

A game can end too soon, or end without ever becoming good, but that's not an evaluation you can make by reading an estimate of how many hours it takes to beat.

Hell. I just replayed Persona 4 Golden, and for as long as it was, it barely reached 50-60. It STILL feels bogged down sometimes by the calendar structure, despite being 1/3-1/2 as long as either P3 or P5.

Length does not equate to quality. Obviously, a modern FF game shouldn't probably be as brief as the less story focused classics (CT and SMRPG are 15 hours at best, but only have so much story). Still, they can suffer either spectrum of too much or not enough.

I clocked in 100 hours of P5 playing at a reasonable pace. By the end I just wanted it to be fucking over.

P5 was great. P5 Royal was miserable

I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding

For real though 30 hours is already long for a pure action game with strictly handcrafted encounters. DMC5 and MGR would both suck if they were 50 hours long. Obviously this game is also an RPG with a story to tell and is just taking heavy notes from that genre for its gameplay so 30-50 sounds totally perfect. Even most pure RPGs that go too much longer than that end up feeling poorly paced IMO.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

People thinking 50 hours is too short really shows how Persona brained this board is TBH.

I just want to say that literally only one person in this topic has complained about 50 hours being too short, so don't use this to characterize the board

50 hours is just right if you ask me

foolm0r0n posted...

But what if we run out of games to play in our lifetime

lmao

KamikazePotato posted...

I clocked in 100 hours of P5 playing at a reasonable pace. By the end I just wanted it to be fucking over.

I will say I was surprised that at 95 hours I was still not tired of P5. But by 105 I definitely was.